1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Catania
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Riqualificazione quartiere San Berillo Catania
Short description of the intervention
The project aims at realizing a large urban park to link the city and the sea coast. It is a project of significant social value, as it takes place in a neighbourhood which has been in a state of decay for 50 years. The intervention includes new facilities for recreation and sport, but first of all new plantations and the creation of rooftop gardens. It would be the second-largest park of the city, by linking the city and the sea. (Ref.1.)
Address

Via Luigi Rizzo, 12,
95131 Catania
Italy

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
NBS area
240000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Residential
Website of the intervention
https://www.mcarchitects.it/project/masterplan-san-berillo
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2016
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Ongoing
Goals of the intervention
The goal of the intervention is to transform the entire area of the neighbourhood, which will be turned into a huge green area. The creation of walking and cycling paths will increase the accessibility of the zone, which will provide multiple services. Additionally, the area will be home of several species of animals and plants, preserving biodiversity, as well as offer cultural and social services related to recreational activities (there will be the presence of restaurants, bars and playgrounds). (Ref.1.)
Quantitative targets
5 hectares of green urban park (Ref.1.)
Monitoring indicators defined
Hectares of of green urban park (Ref.1.)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Regulation of built environment
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Combatting crime and corruption
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Enabling opportunities for physical activity
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Tourism support
Real estate development
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Promotion of cultural diversity
Preservation of historic traditions
Implementation activities
The masterplan of urban regeneration of the San Berillo neighbourhood has been a long process, initiated by the municipality but involving at the same time private actors to develop the project in practice. After an announcement by the municipality, the architect studio Mario Cuccinella and Studio Land presented a project of regeneration which was approved by the city (Ref. 1&2)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Transformation of previously derelict areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Blue infrastructure
Coastlines
Vegetation Type
Grass
Shrubs
Trees
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Tourism
Recreation
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Young people and children
Marginalized groups
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Please specify other local relevant strategy
Urban strategy for sustainable development (Ref.3.)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Municipality of Catania was the initiator of the project, they identified the guidelines for the regeneration process and published an announcement to identify possible private studios to design the intervention. The city co-funded the project according to the local urban strategy for sustainable development. Studio Mario Cuccinella and Studio Land: delegated to design the project, following the guidelines and the request of the city. Parsitalia group: private association developer of the area, which owns parts of the neighbourhood and had to concede private space for the intervention (Ref. 1,2 &3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Private sector or company
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
Interventions at urban level for the neighbourhoods in Catania (and for sustainable urban regeneration in general) are regulated by the "Strategia urbana di sviluppo sostenibile" (Urban strategy for sustainable development) (Ref.3.)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Interventions at urban level for the neighbourhoods in Catania (and for sustainable urban regeneration in general) are regulated by the "Strategia urbana di sviluppo sostenibile" (Urban strategy for sustainable development) (Ref.3.)Within the above-mentioned document, there are two specific sections dealing with nature-based concepts and regeneration. They are named "Grandi infrastrutture" (Great infrastructures, p.10) and "Rigenerazione urbana" (Urban regeneration, p.14)
(Ref.3.)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Urban redevelopment plan
Other
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
200 million €
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Business models
Green densification model
Vacant space model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The innovation is referred to be an infrastructural innovation because it proposes a new concept of urban natural park linking the city centre with the sea, by providing at the same time important functions for the city (in terms of recreational services, ecosystem conservation and mitigation from human pollution)
(Ref.2.)
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
For the first time at city level an initiative was aiming at regenerating an entire neighbourhood area, with the goal at the same time of improving the conditions of the area and playing the role of linking the area with the sea coast (Ref.1.)
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not referred to as being transferred to new initiative(s)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Reduced biodiversity loss
Restoration of derelict areas
Description of environmental benefits
In 2019, the municipality inaugurated a park in the area, part of the overall re-qualification plan. It is located in San Berillo next to a parking space. No other details were offered (4)
The new urban park is expected to produce positive effects in terms of preserving and enhancing biodiversity, as it will be home of plants and animals. In addition, being located in the city centre, the park will improve the air quality by reducing the polluting effects of traffic. (Ref.2&3)
Economic impacts
Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
Attraction of business and investment
Description of economic benefits
The park will see several restaurants and bars which will contribute to creating new jobs and improving the economy and liveability of the area. (Ref.2&3)
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Decreased crime rates
Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Description of social and cultural benefits
In the beginning when the NBS was planned, one of the reasons for which the municipality wanted to create green spaces was to prevent the increase in crime in the area. San Berillo is a neighbourhood with vast derelict areas, prone to petty crime acts. Through the redevelopment of the area, the Municipality hopes to increase safety among citizens (1, 2).
The creation of new green space also is expected to produce significant health benefits (Ref.2&3).
No other data was offered.
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown

Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Combatting crime and corruption
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Tourism support
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of July 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref.1. Parola d’ordine a Catania e Taranto: rigenerazione urbana!
Ref.2. San Berillo, come i giardini pensili di Babilonia
Catania, piazza Grenoble si rifà il look
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Ref.3. Integrated strategy sustainable urban development (762.38 KB) 762.38 KB
List of references
Ref.1. Il giornale dell'architetture (2015). Parola d’ordine a Catania e Taranto: rigenerazione urbana!. Available at http://ilgiornaledellarchitettura.com/web/2015/11/23/parola-dordine-a-catania-e-taranto-rigenerazione-urbana/ (Accessed 20-6-2020)

Ref.2. Impreseedili (2013). San Berillo, come i giardini pensili di Babilonia. Available at http://www.impresedilinews.it/san-berillo-come-i-giardini-pensili-di-babilonia/ (Accessed 20-6-2020)

Ref.3. Comune di Catania (2016). PON METRO Strategia Integrata di Sviluppo Urbano Sostenibile Documento di sintesi. Catania: pp. 1-42, Available at http://www.ponmetro.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Strategia_Integrata_di_Sviluppo_Urbano_Sostenibile_CATANIA.pdf (Accessed 20-6-2020)

Ref. 4 Lasciliaweb (2019), Catania, piazza Grenoble si rifà il look, Available at https://www.lasiciliaweb.it/2019/03/29/catania-piazza-grenoble-si-rifa-il-look/, (Accessed 17-7-2020)
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
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